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Sheriff Joe Arpaio thinks his pardon might divide the GOP

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Former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio breathed a sigh of relief Saturday as he heaped praise on President Trump, but conceded that his controversial pardon could…
Former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio breathed a sigh of relief Saturday as he heaped praise on President Trump, but conceded that his controversial pardon could fracture state GOP politics for years to come, his longtime personal attorney told The Post.
“The sheriff is greatly saddened to see the anger and hostility being expressed, ” lawyer Mark Goldman said. “He sincerely hopes that this divisiveness will end and the angry rhetoric will quiet down.”
Both of the state’s Republican Senators sided with Democrats in opposition to the pardon, which will keep the 85-year-old from serving up to six months in the slammer, after last month’s conviction of criminal contempt of court for ignoring a judge’s order to stop profiling Hispanics.
Kelli Ward, a potential challenger to Sen. Jeff Flake in next year’s GOP primary, cheered Arpaio as a “patriot who did the job the Feds refused to do” in a tweet thanking Trump for absolving the former Maricopa County sheriff.
She joined Gov. Doug Ducey and Congressman Andy Biggs, both Republicans, in support of the pardon.
It was Goldman who surprised Arpaio with the pardon papers, presenting them along with a birthday gift for the sheriff’s wife, Ava, who turned 86 on Friday.
“She was overwhelmed with happiness, ” Goldman said. “She’s not going to have to be separated from her husband of 60 years.”
Initially, Arpaio wondered whether the pardon documents were legit.
“He asked, could it be a fake certificate? Because he has some experience with fake certificates, ” Goldman said. “I told him, no, we’ ve really checked it out.”
Arpaio, a stalwart Trump supporter through the presidential campaign, never requested a pardon, Goldman said — adding that he doesn’ t regard the pardon as a quid pro quo.
“The sheriff sees it as President Trump doing the right thing in the face of a great injustice, ” Goldman said. “And in connection with an innocent man who was the victim of a political witch hunt by the Obama administration.”
He continued: “ [Trump] had the courage to take this action knowing that there would be political fallout.”
Arpaio, who served 24 years as sheriff in Phoenix and the surrounding county, was known for his tough stance against illegal immigration and rough treatment of criminal suspects, whom he jailed in a “tent city” without relief from the desert heat. He lost a re-election bid last November.
The July conviction found that violated a court injunction meant to stop traffic patrols that targeted illegal immigrants — and that resulted in detentions for innocent Latino motorists.
He was set to be sentenced Oct. 5.
Now, the octogenarian is eyeing a return to political office, Goldman said. “He’s only 85 years old; he’s got a lot of things to do.”

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